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President Joe Biden on Friday was visiting the Cincinnati area to talk up priorities such as a China competition bill and a new 3-D printing program, but a key fellow Democrat — the party’s Ohio Senate nominee, Tim Ryan — wasn’t expected to take part in Biden’s events.
Ryan’s absence likely reflects how Democrats in tough races feel the need to keep their distance from the president, who is facing low approval ratings and getting blamed for high inflation.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki played down the lawmaker’s absence and noted the involvement of Ohio’s two senators in the day’s events — Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman, whose upcoming retirement has led to the race between Ryan and GOP nominee J.D. Vance.
“My understanding is Congressman Ryan has to attend a funeral and had other events he needed to attend,” Psaki told reporters on Air Force One on Friday.
“The president remains in close touch with him and is obviously very supportive of him, and he’s looking forward to having both senators from Ohio there today.”
A Republican win is forecast in Ohio’s Senate race, with betting market PredictIt giving an 84% chance of victory for the GOP. Vance, the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” won the GOP primary on Tuesday, buoyed by Donald Trump’s endorsement in a race that was viewed as an early test of the former president’s influence in the party.
From the archives (April 2021): Formerly anti-Trump author of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ wins long-running battle for ex-president’s endorsement in GOP Senate primary in Ohio
Key Words (May 2021): Tim Ryan castigates House Republicans who voted against Jan. 6 commission: ‘Holy cow!’
In a speech at United Performance Metals in Hamilton, Biden repeated his call for Congress to pass a bipartisan innovation and competition bill. Such legislation is expected to include more than $50 billion in subsidies for chip makers
SMH,
SOXX,
along with billions more for other industries to build out U.S. manufacturing capacity.
“Pass the damn bill and send it to me,” Biden said.
The president also touted a new 3-D printing initiative that involves GE Aviation
GE,
Honeywell
HON,
Lockheed Martin
LMT,
and other big companies. It’s called AM Forward, with AM standing for additive manufacturing.
“AM Forward will help lower costs for American families by improving the competitiveness of America’s small and medium-sized manufacturers, creating and sustaining high-paying manufacturing jobs, and improving supply-chain resilience through adoption of additive manufacturing,” the White House said in a news release.
DJIA,
traded sharply lower Friday, a day after enduring their biggest one-day drop since 2020.
